Discriminatory advertisements under the DDO

The DDO also has similar provisions to the SDO in respect of discrimination. This means that it would be unlawful to advertise a job for persons with particular physical requirements in circumstances where such physical requirements are not inherent requirements of the job, where absence of a disability is not a Genuine Occupational Qualification, or where no other legal exception applies.

In this regard, some wordings in a recruitment advertisements, such as "excellent health", or "五官端正" 1 and "體健" 2 , which are commonly found in Chinese advertisements, may imply that people who have an illness or a disfigurement would be refused employment. In other words, persons with certain illnesses or disfigurement who read such advertisements might feel they would be excluded because they cannot meet the requirements of the job being advertised. Such advertisements would therefore, on the face of it, be unlawful.

In order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding or uncertainties, it is recommended that words which describe particular physical attributes are avoided. Instead, the advertisement should set out the duties of the job which would require, or otherwise indicate the reasons for requiring, those attributes. For example, rather than specifying the requirements of "體健" for the position of "delivery worker", it would be far better and precise to say that the job involves lifting heavy materials manually.

1. "五官端正" - This is a requirement commonly found in Chinese job advertisements which, in literal terms, refers to having five properly-formed facial organs. There is no exact equivalent term in English. Literal meaning aside, the term is often taken to imply a requirement of a face with no disfigurement and/or a 'nice' face although 'nice' is open to subjective interpretation.

2. "體健" - As with the term above, this is also commonly found in Chinese advertisements and, in literal terms, can be translated as either "健康" which means "healthy" or "good health", or "健碩" which means "strong" or "a strong physique". The interpretation of this term depends on the context in which the term is used. For example, if this requirement is found in an advertisement for a delivery worker whose main duty is to carry heavy objects, it can be taken to mean a strong physique.

Source: Equal Opportunities Commission